Innuendo
{{Short description|A suggestive remark}}
{{Other uses}}
File:Animal Flyer.jpg on a male "catcall"]]
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion. In the latter sense, the intention is often to insult or accuse someone in such a way that one's words, taken literally, are innocent.{{Cite web|title=Implication and Innuendo|url=https://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/business_computer_ethics/truth%20in%20advertising.html|access-date=2021-06-30|website=www.csus.edu|archive-date=2021-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511142425/https://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/business_computer_ethics/truth%20in%20advertising.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|date=2014-01-02|title=Innuendo - Examples and Definition of Innuendo|url=https://literarydevices.net/innuendo/|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US}}
According to the Advanced Oxford Learner's Dictionary, an innuendo is "an indirect remark about somebody or something, usually suggesting something bad, mean or rude", such as: "innuendos about her private life" or "The song is full of sexual innuendo".[http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/innuendo?q=innuendo Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094326/http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/innuendo?q=innuendo |date=2015-05-18 }} (7th Edition; electronic version)
Sexual innuendo
File:Strechit ca1800-1810 non-sidesaddle sailor caricature.jpg by not riding sidesaddle]]
The term sexual innuendo has acquired a specific meaning, namely that of a "risqué" double entendre by playing on a possibly sexual interpretation of an otherwise innocent uttering. For example: "We need to go deeper" can be seen as either a request for further inquiry or allude to sexual penetration.{{Cite book|last=Hartwig|first=Melinda K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gF24BQAAQBAJ|title=A Companion to Ancient Egyptian Art|date=2014-12-01|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-32509-4|language=en}}
Defamation law
In the context of defamation law, an innuendo meaning is one which is not directly contained in the words that are illustrated, but which would be understood by those reading it based on specialized knowledge.{{Cite web|title=Language of Comedy - Innuendo|url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/english-language/language-comedy-innuendo|access-date=2021-06-30|website=OpenLearn|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Sexual Harassment {{!}} Sexual Offense Support (S.O.S.)|url=https://sites.udel.edu/sos/sexual-harassment/|access-date=2021-06-30|language=en-US}}
Film, television, and other media
File:Rocko's Modern Life - Washing Machine Innuendo.png animated series Rocko's Modern Life, a washing machine is displayed among multiple other unconventional carousel horses as a reference to female masturbation.]]
Comedy film scripts have used innuendo since the beginning of sound film itself. A notable example is the Carry On film series (1958–1992) in which innuendo was a staple feature, often including the title of the film itself. British sitcoms and comedy shows such as Are You Being Served?{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/264230.stm|title=Going down: 'Grace Bros' store closes|publisher=BBC News|date=February 1, 1999|quote=The innuendo was loud and clear|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227013009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/264230.stm|archive-date=February 27, 2009}} and Round the Horne{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3605608/A-return-to-unalloyed-joy.html|title=A return to unalloyed joy|author=Dominic Cavendish|date=31 Oct 2003|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|quote=...a censor-baiting mixture of absurd spoofs, yarns, links and character-turns, laced with end-of-the-pier innuendo and erudite-infantile wordplay.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924212749/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3605608/A-return-to-unalloyed-joy.html|archive-date=2015-09-24}} have also made extensive use of innuendo. Mild sexual innuendo is a staple of British pantomime.{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/12/25/144248303/only-the-brits-not-christmas-without-pantomime|title=Only The Brits: Not Christmas Without Pantomime|publisher=NPR|date=December 25, 2011|quote=No panto is complete without a dose of smutty innuendo for the adults and some contemporary political jokes.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101101932/http://www.npr.org/2011/12/25/144248303/only-the-brits-not-christmas-without-pantomime|archive-date=January 1, 2012}}
Numerous television programs and animated films targeted at child audiences often use innuendos in an attempt to entertain adolescent/adult audiences without exceeding their network's censorship policies.{{cite web |last1=Schreiber |first1=Hope |date=March 29, 1997 |title=A History of Weird Sexual Innuendo in Children's Movies |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/01/sexual-innuendo-childrens-movies/ |website=Complex |access-date=5 December 2020}} For example, Rocko's Modern Life employed numerous innuendos over its run, such as alluding to masturbation by naming the fictional fast food chain in the show "Chokey Chicken".{{cite web |last1=Scibelli |first1=Anthony |title=The 6 Creepiest Things Ever Slipped Into Children's Cartoons |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_18672_the-6-creepiest-things-ever-slipped-into-childrens-cartoons_p2.html |website=Cracked |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=2 December 2020}} Over 20 percent of the show's audience were adults as a result.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Scott |title=CARTOON KINGDOM |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1997-03-29-9703280244-story.html |website=South Florida SunSentinel |date=29 March 1997 |access-date=2 December 2020}}
On The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1, listeners are asked to send in clips from radio and TV with innuendos in a humorous context, a feature known as "Innuendo Bingo". Presenters and special guests fill their mouths with water and listen to the clips, and the last person to spit the water out with laughter wins the game.{{cite web|title=Innuendo Bingo|date=21 June 2011 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hq228|access-date=15 October 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102185555/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hq228|archive-date=2 January 2013}}
See also
{{Wiktionary}}